Task Force to study use of illegal guns in Omaha crimes

A task force of city officials, law enforcement, and private citizens will study additional ways Omaha can get illegal guns off the streets.

More than 800 illegal guns were taken off Omaha’s streets last year. The city ended 2011 with 37 homicides, and has recorded eight homicides so far this year.

Mayor Jim Suttle issued an executive order Wednesday setting up the task force. A city prosecutor will serve on the task force full-time, along with an Omaha Police captain assigned to the gang unit. Mayor Suttle says the task force will study legislative issues, innovative ways to get more illegal guns off Omaha's streets, and how such cases are prosecuted now.

City Prosecutor Marty Conboy says the sentence for a first-offense misdemeanor of possession of an illegal firearm is six months to one year in jail.